BFM: The Kingdom
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Introduction
Introduction
As we have done the last couple of weeks, you might expect us to get to our next article in the BFM (article #7 - Baptism and the Lord’s Supper), however I felt as though we have a good concept on both Baptism and the Lord’s Supper in addition to what Sunday represents as Christians! We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act in which we remember what Christ did for us and we take part in the juice/bread and anticipate His eventual returning. We also know that Baptism is not what saves us as Christians but rather serves as an outward demonstration of what has been an inward change! We know that Sunday is the Lord’s Day and this day serves a reminder to praise our Lord and Savior for what He has done for us! We gather corporately on this day to sing and worship the King. There is nothing wrong with discussing these events and things further, however I wanted to spend some time tonight discussing something that we might not talk about quite as much: The Kingdom.
As Baptists, we love to talk about Baptism and coming to Church. We enjoy celebrating the Lord’s Supper as well! We come to church, worship and fellowship, and then we leave. How does our Christian faith fit into our entire lives? It fits in because we are a part of the Kingdom as Believers and we are tasked with living for Christ during our lives on this planet. We also know that there is coming a wonderful and glorious day when Christ will return and usher in the “Kingdom” once and for all.
The BFM has this to say about the Kingdom:
“The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God's will be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age”
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Mat
29 “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
14 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
31 “But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;
Several more Scripture passages than normal tonight, however I wanted to look at various places in Scripture to see how the entire Bible illustrates and talks about the Kingdom. We are all a part of a Kingdom - either the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Man. Tonight we will look at the significance of the Kingdom of God and some of the things that the Kingdom is and some things that it is not!
What is the Kingdom of God?
What is the Kingdom of God?
In Scripture, the Kingdom of God is a realm and a reign. It is already but also not yet. We know that we are a part of the Kingdom of God as born-again Christians, however we know that there is a coming Kingdom that will look completely different than the Kingdom that we are presently a part of. We see in the BFM that the primary set of verses come from the Gospels - this makes sense because we see Jesus Christ talk about the Kingdom of God often. We think of Christ as being the Son of God and inviting people to follow Him, however we can fail to see the fact that He also ushered in His Kingdom on Earth. Christ began to wage war against the evil powers of darkness and He invited others to join Him in this cosmic battle. The Kingdom of God is every bit as much a heavenly battle as it is an earthly battle. As Christ defeated sin and death, He won us the ultimate victory in this war! We are invited to join Him and take up arms in the fight for the souls of mankind.
God is the creator and the King over His creation. Now, we are well aware of earthly kingdoms and nations and how they are set up. In ancient times you would have a king/queen or a dictator who would rule over your kingdom until you were conquered and a new ruler would be appointed. The beautiful think about the Kingdom of God is that it is not a simple nation or country but rather it represents His rule over the lives of people around the whole world! The wonderful thing about this message from Christ is that the Kingdom of God is not something that we have to wait to be a part of one day but it is something that we can join right now whenever we call upon the name of Jesus to save us from our sins. Those of us who have already done this are already a part of the Kingdom of God. We are soldiers and we have a mission - proclaim the name of our Savior with a lost and dying world regardless of the cost.
There is a connection between salvation and being a part of the Kingdom. We know that America is a place of many different beliefs and ethnicities and there is not a “requirement” to be an American as long as you are either born here or you legally come into the country and pass the US citizenship test. When it comes to entry into the Kingdom, though, we know that the rules are different. You don’t have to be one nationality or pass a test, you simply have to give Jesus control of your life and live for Him. All nations are a part of the Kingdom and this Kingdom (unlike any other Kingdom) will be eternal! If you are familiar with history then you know that the Roman Empire lasted for over 1000 years and for the majority of that duration, they were the most dominant empire on the face of the planet. The United States certainly is the most dominant nation in the world, however we have only been a nation for 250 years! We cannot grasp the idea of a Kingdom lasting for eternity. The Kingdom of God will be an eternal one, though, and it won’t be a democracy or a republic, it will be a theocratical dictatorship with God as our leader. The reason that dictatorships fail throughout the world is because of sinfulness, however a dictatorship with a pure and perfect ruler would be the best form of government. Praise God that that is what we have to look forward to one day whenever we enter into Glory!
What the Kingdom is Not
What the Kingdom is Not
The Kingdom is not the church. The church is not the Kingdom. As Baptists we acknowledge the fact that the Church is more than a building and that it encompasses all Believers around the world. We are a part of a worldwide Kingdom, we are not a kingdom on our own in this cosmic battle. We must make sure to understand what Scripture says in order to better understand what the Kingdom is and what it is not! Many Christians in America have bought into false things regarding the Gospel - whether that it is a call for Social Justice or the heresy that is the Prosperity Gospel. What we must realize is that we cannot bring in the Kingdom of God to America by brute force or carefully crafted messages. The greatest sermon that advocates for America to promote the Social Gospel (as many liberal theologians love to claim Christ did) is not building up the Kingdom. We are incapable of ushering in the Kingdom on this planet. What the church does is represent the Kingdom to the world around us. We bear witness of the coming day where Christ shall come and establish His earthly reign.
The Kingdom of God is not inclusive. We talk about how all are welcome to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and this is 100% true throughout Scripture. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved! We can debate the theological process of this event and the timing of how things work out, however we know for a fact that this message is available to every nation, tribe and tongue. One thing that the Kingdom is not, though, is inclusive. It is the most exclusive Kingdom in the world. Rome had nearly 40% of the World’s population in its empire at one point. It had millions of citizens from various places in the world under their control. China and India have nearly 33% of the world’s population under their control today! These nations are large and powerful and numerous and there are benefits of being a citizen of these places. As a Roman citizen you had certain rights that other citizens did not have! Paul’s life was saved several times because of his Roman citizenship. We know that there are certainly benefits of being an American today over being born in a nation like Venezuela (especially if you’ve been keeping up with the news). The point that I want to make here though is that there are infinitely more benefits of being a citizen of the Kingdom than a citizen of any nation in the world! As exclusive as it can be to be an American or to be a millionaire or a professional athlete, it is even more exclusive to be a part of the Kingdom! In America we are different from the rest of the world because of our technology, freedom, wealth and power. As a citizen of the Kingdom, though, we are different from the rest of the world because we have true freedom and hope as children of the King. This is the most exclusive club of all yet the Kingdom is not for us to boast about. It is a club that has open arms for all who enter in.
The Kingdom can be hard for us to define, however we know that we are not the star of the Kingdom. There is no place for boasting in being a part of this team because it is God who has won the victory and enabled us to join His team. The Kingdom must be something that we live for in our daily lives - it cannot be 100% an internal thing in our lives, it must be both internal and external. We must live for Christ.
Significance of the Kingdom
Significance of the Kingdom
One of the reasons that the Jews did not accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah is the fact that they were expecting a conquering King who would lead them out of Roman occupation and restore their status as a dominant world force. They wanted a military leader more so than they sought a spiritual savior. One of the beautiful things about the Kingdom is the fact that it is cosmic. Our King, Jesus Christ, came as a lamb and took our place on the cross so that sinners like you and I could be justified before a Holy God. He is coming back one day as the roaring Lion who will make His enemies fall before His feet. The military leader that the Jews were longing so much for will come one day and we will be ready for it as a member of the Kingdom. We live with expectation that this day is coming soon. We must live this way, correct? Many followers of Christ lived with the mindset that Christ would be returning in their very lifetimes! While they might have been disappointed that He did not, they certainly lived their lives on mission and did not waste opportunities to share the Gospel. We must live the same way today! It can be easy to put things off and say “I’ll share with them some other day” (and sometimes we need to give people time to think about what we have shared) however we cannot live this way continually! There is a song by Matthew West entitled, “Do Something” and he writes in the chorus “It’s not enough to do nothing, it’s time for us to do something.” As a citizen of the Kingdom, this is the mindset that we need whenever we live our lives! I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I am a part of the Kingdom of God (the family of God). I have been set free from sin and death, there is no condemnation for me! I am supposed to share this good news with those around me because I have been set free and I want other people to be set free as well.
So, the Kingdom is cosmic - God is in control over all things. He is the king of kings and lord of lords!
The Kingdom is also Christocentric - it’s all about Jesus Christ. We see in that the Father has given the Son a Kingdom and He will defeat all of His enemies (while giving life to those who follow Him) and He will give this kingdom back to the Father willingly! We know that people enter into the Kingdom by faith in Christ and our hope is that one day Christ will return to bring about the earthly Kingdom of God. Christ talked about the Kingdom of God and He taught that the Kingdom would grow from the time that He ascended until He eventually returns. Thankfully, the Kingdom continues to grow today around the world! We are delivered from the dominion of darkness into the Kingdom of the Son.
The Kingdom is also a consummation - We experience the blessing of gathering with other Christians week in and week out in present day America without the fear of persecution, unlike millions of our brothers and sisters around the world. We are able to be encouraged and lifted by the Spirit when we gather and worship our King! We also know that there is coming a day where our faith shall be sight and the object of our worship will be before us. What a day that will be when our Jesus we shall see!
Conclusion
Conclusion
If you were told that Christ was coming back on June 1st, how would you live these next 3 weeks? Would your conversations be any different? Would you sleep as easy at night? Would your words and actions around others change? I know that there would be dozens of people on my mind that I would want to share the Gospel with at least one last time. I would certainly live a different life with the understanding that some of my friends and family might not be saved and their judgment day is mere weeks away. I pray that, as a Church, we would live this way normally. This doesn’t mean that we walk up and down the highway with posters saying “the end is near!” or scare people into a conversion, however just imagine how different things would be if we genuinely lived our lives with the expectation that Christ’s return was going to be a couple weeks away! Our conversations would change and our focus would be on the eternal destination of our friends, neighbors, co-workers and family members. Remember that you are a part of the Kingdom and you have a task - to represent our Savior who is in Heaven. We cannot take that task lightly and we ought to try to share that message with others daily.
Let’s pray